Boulder County Public Health sharing fall school guidance in early August

Jul. 27—Boulder County health officials recently announced plans to provide guidance in early August to the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts on masks and quarantine policies for the fall.

School starts Aug. 18 and 19 for Boulder Valley students, depending on grade, and Aug. 17 for St. Vrain Valley students.

Boulder Valley had planned to share more information last week, but let families know in a recent message that the decision will be delayed until it hears from local health departments at its Aug. 10 school board meeting.

"As we have done since the beginning of the pandemic, we intend to follow the public health orders and best advice of our local public health agencies," school officials wrote in the email. "They have done an excellent job of striking a balance between protecting students and ensuring that they have the opportunity to learn in-person in the least restrictive environment possible — given the existing COVID situation in our schools and community."

St. Vrain Valley officials have not provided a timeline for when it will announce any updates to its masking guidance.

Both Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley removed mask requirements, regardless of vaccination status, for summer programs earlier this month in response to recommendations from local health departments.

But in the letter to Boulder Valley families, officials noted it's now a "changing situation" because of an increase in COVID-19 rates for the unvaccinated, including children, that's been largely attributed to the Delta variant of the virus.

"Knowing the importance of in-person learning, we plan to do whatever is necessary to have students in school five days a week, safely," according to the letter.

Colorado released its back-to-school COVID health guidelines last week, largely aligning with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations, including that unvaccinated children two and up wear masks, according to The Denver Post.

The guidance suggests masks for unvaccinated kids, but doesn't mandate them. The state's guidance also says that "routine" classroom exposures will not immediately mean children and staff will have to quarantine.

Quarantines of close contacts won't be required if certain conditions are met, including at schools located in counties with low community transmission and where at least 70% of eligible people have received at least one vaccine dose.

The guidance noted some student groups may be at higher risk because of their participation in activities that include indoor sports, contact sports, choir and band. School districts are asked to consider precautionary measures for those activities, including masks, frequent testing and targeted quarantines.

Following the release of the state guidance, Boulder County health officials said they want to review the guidelines before sharing local recommendations. Boulder County Public Health and Broomfield Public Health plan to present their guidance at the Boulder Valley school board's Aug. 10 meeting.

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